Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Trimmed by Kestra Investment Management LLC

Kestra Investment Management LLC cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,355 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,063 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAM Holding AG increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 117,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,693,000 after acquiring an additional 8,446 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.6% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,059,000 after acquiring an additional 3,125 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 566,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,309,000 after buying an additional 6,197 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 140,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,978,000 after buying an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 489,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,718,000 after purchasing an additional 90,691 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Leerink Partners reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.06.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $88.25 per share, for a total transaction of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,933 shares in the company, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.7 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $83.01 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.09 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $97.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.